CORO India,founded in 1989, works to build a world based on equality and social justice by working with the most marginalised communities. CORO believes that sustained behavioural change, led by the people themselves, is the key to development. It empowers local leaders, so that they can identify their issues and find solutions. Its programmes have been instrumental in nurturing leadership,empowering women and sensitising young people on gender issues.
CORO (Committee of Resource Organisations) was formed with the sole aim of propagating adult literacy in urban low-income communities. The founders of CORO represented new social movement organisations and largely came from privileged backgrounds.CORO then gradually evolved to become a community-led organisation where its apex as well as ground leadership teams are comprised of members from the marginalised communities, especially women. This makes the organisation and its interventions relevant and feasible for such communities and facilitates sustainable and regenerative impact.
CORO’s own journey and its evolution have shaped what CORO does and why. CORO’s ‘Unique Demonstrative Proposition’ (UDP) over the last three decades has been about facilitating leadership from within marginalised communities, especially among women and youth. We work to build a world based on equality and social justice by working with the most marginalised communities to facilitate leadership from within these communities to steer rights (entitlements) based, collective actions for social change.
Gender empowerment has been at the core of CORO’s work since its inception. Presently, the organisation works in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. CORO's grassroots work has been focused on the grassroots leadership development, gender empowerment, and the protection and implementation of child rights. In addition, it partners with the leaders from its Grassroots Leadership Development Programme (GLDP) and their NGOs / CBOs on regional programmes / campaigns to address issues that are important for these regions and communities. For example, the ‘Right to Pee’ (RTP) programme to address gender insensitivity in urban sanitation; single women’s programme to address gender rights related issues of single women;the programme on addressing water scarcity in perpetual draught prone areas in Western Maharashtra; or collaborative efforts on community forest rights of tribal and other marginalised communities, etc.
